Litter Convention announces new message and statistics

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

A new anti-littering message, 'Love Where You Live', announced after new statistics show that England's litter problem is not improving.

A new anti-littering message, ‘Love Where You Live’, was announced today on the back of new statistics which show that England’s litter problem is not improving.

The Local Environment Quality Survey for England (LEQSE) report published today reveals that there have been no real improvements in litter levels, a pattern seen over recent years. Levels of smoking-related litter, confectionery packaging, non-alcoholic drink and fast food related litter have all risen in the past year.

Today’s National Litter Convention brings together partners from government, local authorities, business and the voluntary sector, who will work together to tackle this problem.

Combined action will be supported by a new communication brand ‘Love Where You Live’ which has been developed with the ‘Litter Challenge Group’, a core group made up of these partners. This new brand has been developed with financial input from the businesses involved with this group and will be publically launched in the spring.

“People care deeply about the appearance of their local environment and for many people litter is the biggest problem affecting their neighbourhood. The LEQSE report shows that more needs to be done to tackle this problem. Today’s convention and the new ‘Love Where You Live’ message show that everyone involved is serious about taking action.”

Keep Britain Tidy’s ambassador, Kirstie Allsopp said:

“Being part of Love Where You Live is a chance for the big brands to become the heroes instead of the villains in the fight against litter. Those who mindlessly chuck their fast food or cigarette butt on the floor cost our country millions and destroy the places we call home.”

“Today is a landmark moment, as big business joins forces with councils and many other organisations to make a stand. With the right support, this new brand could bring back a sense of pride to where we live.”

Defra, the Litter Challenge Group and Keep Britain Tidy will continue to work together, with other partners including CPRE and the Local Government Association, to ensure that these commitments contribute to the Government’s aim of a substantially cleaner England by 2020.

Notes

Partners at the conference will discuss whether they can endorse six principles aimed at setting out what they are doing to meet the challenge and reduce littering such as:
* Encourage personal responsibility and positive action;
* Take responsibility for keeping your immediate area clean;
* Work in partnership with neighbours to reduce litter;
* Raise awareness and education about the prevention of littering;
* Make it easy for people not to drop litter; and
* Become an active ambassador for clean places throughout England and the UK.

The LEQSE report is carried out by Keep Britain Tidy on behalf of Defra and measures the cleanliness of our local areas. It’s an annual survey and is the largest of its kind with more than 1,000 site visits conducted. The information is used by councils, land owners and street cleansing companies. This year’s report can be found at: www.keepbritaintidy.org/Expertise/Surveys/SurveyReports/Default.aspx